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http://www.macnn.com/articles/05/01/06/mac.rumor.site.responds/

Mac rumor site: 'we were within our rights'

updated 01:50 pm EST, Thu January 6, 2005

 

Mac rumor site responds


Mac rumor site Think Secret says that it is confident it was the information about upcoming product releases from Apple, according to a Reuters interview with the publisher of the site. "We're confident that Think Secret's reporting is consistent with the right and privileges granted by the First Amendment," dePlume wrote. "The complaint is being reviewed, and Think Secret defers further comment until it has been analyzed." In a statment to the press, Apple said that its "DNA is innovation, and the protection of our trade secrets is crucial to our success," saying that its efforts to silence the publication was not an attempt to stifle free speech. Apple also said that its lawyers had repeatedly sent Think Secret letters demanding that the rumor site withdraw details of the unannounced products, which Apple said it did not do, in most cases.


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  1. medmuse

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

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    01/06, 02:09pm | report spam | Reply |

    Ummm...

    Not a judgement on the legalities involved, but I think it is interesting that Apple makes much of their request to have the story deleted from TS. It implies that they are suing as a last resort. Meanwhile, in the NDA case with the file sharing site, Apple asked to have all the Tiger Beta previews deleted, an announcement made regarding Non-Disclosure Agreements, the site complied with everything asked and [i]then[/i] Apple sued anyway. Just sayin'

  1. medmuse

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    01/06, 02:11pm | report spam | Reply |

    I meant

    then

  1. NDBounce

    Senior User

    Joined: Feb 2000

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    01/06, 02:25pm | report spam | Reply |

    Does this mean

    Does this mean that Think Secret actually had some facts behind the rumors?

  1. mfeldman

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    01/06, 02:38pm | report spam | Reply |

    Free speech?? Just PR!!

    I picked this up from tera patricks' web site on free speech issues.

    http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac360/more/apple_lawsuit_dangerous_for_free_speech_or_pr_hype/

    She agrees that there's much at play with the lawsuit. Free speech is intimidated by Apple's lawsuit, Mac sites will think twice before publishing certain "dirt", AND, here's what I think-- Apple gets more public relations mileage out of their forthcoming announcements even before the announcements.

    Everyone's talking about the $500 Mac, the iWork application, and looking intently at Macworld.

    Me too.

  1. paulc

    Junior Member

    Joined: Aug 2000

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    01/06, 02:57pm | report spam | Reply |

    Facts??

    They did NOT sue a site in the case of the Tiger alphas... they sued 3 guys who helped distribute it because they were ADC members and had signed contracts with Cupertino.

    As for Think Secret, it does seem to have a generally very good reputation as a source of pretty accurate stuff. I suspect the suit against them is totally frivolous... they are only trying to get them to give up the source. TS should NOT back down, and should consider a counter suit for harassment.

    Except for identifying the source, there just isn't anything to be gained here... except for more publicity. Chances are these are their own in-house lawyers, so they're drawing salaries anyway.

  1. medmuse

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    01/06, 03:10pm | report spam | Reply |

    True

    "They did NOT sue a site in the case of the Tiger alphas... they sued 3 guys who helped distribute it because they were ADC members and had signed contracts with Cupertino."
    Point taken. They sued three guys with NDAs that are mods of the site after the guys complied with Apple's requests to remove the alpha and make an announcement why. Apple is also suing 25 "John Does" in the same case. No evidence of NDAs exist with them. They are different cases alltogether; my interest was that complying nicely with Apple Legal will get you sued just as quickly as not.

  1. olePigeon

    Clinically Insane

    Joined: Dec 1999

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    01/06, 05:12pm | report spam | Reply |

    It doesn't matter...

    Whether you sign an NDA or not, it's still illegal to pirate software. Even "alpha" software is protected. Those 25 people are probably non ADC members who downloaded or helped distribute the software.

    Of course we're both speculating here because neither of us know the particulars of the case.

  1. _Rick_V_

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    Joined: Mar 2003

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    01/06, 05:51pm | report spam | Reply |

    From Apple's perspective

    Personally, I enjoy surfing the various Mac rumor sites. As a fan, I love getting excited over the upcoming possible releases.

    However, I also can completely understand why Apple would want to do everything in it's power to shut these sites down. The problem for Apple is that these sites often set a much higher expectation than what's actually delivered.

    For example, there have been countless MacWorlds where the end product didn't meet the specs that were bantered about for months on the rumor sites.

    Or take for example this current crop of rumors. What if this so-called 'iWorks' isn't ready for primetime? What if there is a new headless iMac introduced, but it costs $600, not $500 like everyone speculated?

    Similar things have happened in the past, where people were disappointed (instead of excited) because the specs or prices weren't what they were expecting.

  1. mjtomlin

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    01/06, 05:52pm | report spam | Reply |

    Right to sue...

    Apple is suing to find out who leaked the information and to have that information removed from the site. Whoever is "spilling the beans" on all this stuff is handing out trade secrets and intellectual property. That is illegal. Regardless of whether you believe Apple is admitting to certain rumors, they still want to find out who is responsible for it to put an end to it.

    Freedom of speech does have its limits, especially if you signed a contract saying you wouldn't say anything.

  1. ecrelin

    Junior Member

    Joined: Oct 2000

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    01/06, 07:08pm | report spam | Reply |

    Let's get real

    Just how many people are "disappointed" instead of excited? Talk about delusions of grandeur. This is a handful of mac dweebs (me included). I may have been looking for more at some MacWorlds but this stuff has never affected the market for these things. I've been involved with ACR and every iteration of Apple's "professional" outreaches since 1986 and they have always looked down their noses from an ivory tower. They benefit from this stuff and are overly paranoid. Their DNA won't be compromised by some rumors right before a release, these things have been in the pipeline for months if not over a year, no one is gonna trump them. As far as the lawsuits, once you sign the NDA if you even talk about it you can and should be sued, even if you comply with removal et al. You broke the contract, nuff said. Can't comment on the John Does, no facts. But this TS thing is BS unless someone did violate an NDA, I personally have "slipped through the cracks" and been privy to unreleased Apple stuff without an NDA, I beta'd Photoshop .7 in the late 80's for adobe without an NDA (remember there may be hundreds of people involved in geting a new product produced from scratch and there's a good chance not everyone is covered) if that's where the rumors came from Apple is being stupid.

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